SBS center is done!

Here is my center! Well most of it, still can't quite get it all in the camera lens. It will be even harder once I get the borders on. The only way I could get a good picture of "Dear Jane My Way" was when it was hung at the quilt show, and it was not as big as this one will be. I love it (GFETE)!

Sashing SBS and Beet Pancakes

The horizontal rows of sashing take a bit of doing, and I am still doing them. Lots of pins in each seam, and then slow stitching, but it is getting done. I did two seams last night and have two pinned to sew tonight, then just two more and it will be a center. I'll need to get the iron out then, to press the seams and the border fabrics.

My CSA box has been giving me lots of beets, and since they hold up pretty well they haven't been the first thing I have used each week. Last night I thought I better use some before I got more on Thursday. Cooking them for 45 minutes before I could use them wasn't in the cards, so I started looking online for a "quick" recipe and found "Beet Pancakes and Frittatas with Bittman" ( http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4670696 ) which turned out pretty good, a bunch of beets (a literal bunch, connected with a rubber band) got turned into two pancakes. I think I used more flour than called for, and used dried rosemary crushed with my morter and pestle, fresh would be better. I will definately try these again!

Assembling Sylvia's Bridal Sampler

The last few days have been working on sashing the blocks. So far I have made rows, all twelve of them actually . You can't see them all because I can't get back far enough, and there is stuff (my cutting table that does not move easily) in the way that makes it harder yet. They haven't been ironed yet, and are just stuck on the flannel sheet, more or less (a few pins to make it harder for gravity). Once I got the layout how I liked it I updated my EQ virtual quilt and exported it to my desktop. Now I have a visual reference for getting the blocks in the right spot. On the plus side, it is not affected by gravity, or being able to get back far enough. I updated the earlier post with the new version, just don't think I need two of them here. Now on to the horizontal rows of sashing with cornerstones!

Flower Fairy quilt done!

Friday I basted, Saturday I quilted, and very late Saturday or early Sunday I bound the Flower Fairy baby quilt. Just in time, the baby will be with us on Tuesday, and I will drop it off later this week. The fabric is primarily from the Flower Fairies 1 line by Rose and Hubble that I got a while back. Layout was inspired by "One of a Kind quilts".

The bag has three pockets, but was based on the instuctions I found at http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.0 I used a Target bag as the original pattern, lengthened it a bit though. It will be used to deliver the quilt and can be used as a storage bag or quick diaper bag (especially as their daughter gets older and doesn't need so much), or just a shopping bag.

Virtual SBS quilt

I imported my real blocks into EQ and set the pictures into the quilt layout. Hopefully I didn't duplicate any. I was trying to scatter some colors around, that didn't have a lot of use, and putting some of my favorites in the center so they would be seen on the bed. This quilt will be 100" square, before quilting. The green sashing isn't the real fabric, a bit darker than shown, it is the darkest green in the blocks. I need a large flannel sheet to pin to the wall to really lay these out! (new picture as of 7/25 shows final layout and darker green skinny border - CAB)

Finished my Blocks!

The Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks are pieced, appliqued and ready to trim. Yes, I did not trim as I went, or sash, so that is next on the list of steps to get this to a completed top. Do you think of what you were doing (or in my case watching) when you do something? For me, when I look at Tumbling Blocks, I will remember Atonement, the movie I was watching when I pieced and appliqued this block.

K-10 tumbling blocks - used template made from Jennifer's pattern, hand pieced and hand appliqued. I even changed the thread colors.

K-4 glorified nine patch - made the nine patch with EQ6 patterns (basically a five patch), then used a freezer paper method to prep the curves, then hand appliqued them to the nine patch.

N-5 whirlpool - Marti Michell templates, machine piecedJ-7 pinwheel - a combination of Marti Michell template and EQ6 template, not crazy about this block, but it will do.

N-10 Friendship Diamond - the last block I did!

144 blocks to be set 12 x 12, 3882 pieces so far. I started with F-10 Aunt Sukey's Choice on 4/13/2008, trying to just do a block a week. I sped up after a while .

Flower Fairy baby quilt

As far as baby themes go, I love Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter, and Flower Fairies. I tend to collect the Flower Fairy fabric whenever it is available, then don't use it because the parents think they want something in particular for a quilt. Well, a friend from work and his wife are expecting, and I asked about the nursery the other day to get an idea of what would go with it. He said pink with some green. Immediately I thought of the Flower Fairy fabric done by Rose and Hubble a while back. Michael Miller is the current purveyor, although the Apple Blossom Fairy is in both lines. I had some square panels and a rectangular panel and some coordinates (actually lots of coordinates, at least lots of yardage, a local kid's clothes maker was clearing out their warehouse and they had a pink and a white version of an overal pattern, I went crazy at $2 a yard). The massive quantities are still in my stash, awaiting a Stack and Whack attack to hit me (might be soon). I'll use some of the white colorway for the backing of the quilt top I produced today. I only used two of the square panels, still have a set of four of them for some future project.

On a Roll - more SBS blocks

I spent much of the day at my sewing machine and got the last couple of blocks prepped and 6 more SBS blocks made. 139 done, 5 to go!

I-4 Anvil, Marti Michell templates, machine pieced

I-7 Right Hand of Friendship, more Marti Michell templates, machine pieced

J-3 Farmer's Daughter - EQ6 templates, machine pieced

J-4 Autumn Leaf - EQ6 templates, machine pieced, except for stem, hand appliqued

N-6 kaleidoscope , used MM templates for cutting fabric that was then paper pieced together

Christmas Star - the last extra block I am making. Taken from More Elm Creek Quilts, the Christmas Quilt. Used Marti Michell templates when available, then EQ for the rest, machine pieced. The 12" version will be all MM templates. The Christmas Quilt might well be the next Jennifer Chiaverini quilt I make. Those 12" blocks will seem huge!

Next, however, is hand piecing Tumbling blocks or finish up Glorified Nine Patch, then it will be the last three easy pieced blocks (which are all cut out) and all of the blocks will be done! Don't know if that will happen this week or not. I also need to make a baby quilt really soon. And I will be heading off to Sisters Oregon for the quilt show this week. Fun times with my sister :)

SBS Progress

I have spent the last few sewing spells working on the Snow Crystal block. Love it, but glad I decided not to make Carpenter's Wheel as my fourth extra block, too similar. With 14 left to make I thought I'd prep most of them today, which I did. I also decided to make a few of them, so made Puss in the Corner, Pineapple, and Sickle. (I had made Grandmother's Fan a few days ago).

Puss in the corner (above) (rotary cut, machine pieced)

Grandmother's Fan (above) templates, machine pieced (except brown corner quarter circle which was appliqued)

Sickle (above) Marti Michell templates and strip pieced four patches

Pineapple (above) paper pieced

Snow Crystal (templates, hand pieced)